Promises Made Must Always Be Kept
by Iggy's Duckie
Summary: Desperate to support his child and himself, and to escape a certain heartsore of a Frenchman, Arthur moves in with his true friend, Tino, who welcomes them with open arms. Arthur, who's heart still remains in pieces, tries to piece his broken heart back together, when a certain relative of Tino's comes to visit for vacation. Will Alfred be able to seal his heart back together? USUK
1. To Keep

**Hello, my sweet little duckies~ **

**Forgive me for not updating on my multi-chapter fic.. I have writers' block..SEVERE WRITERS' BLOCK. LO SIENTO! GOMEN! SORRY, HUNNY BUNNIES! **

**Mentions a one-sided Fruk (it's very vague, I promise you)...BUT THIS IS SO TOTALLY USUK! My OTP, of course~ **

**Also, Sealand is England's baby. (AWWWWW..) And a FEM!UK prior relationship that resulted in Sealand. **

**Hopefully you enjoy this though. . **

**I don't own shit.**

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He never intended this to happen.

Arthur closed his eyes tightly, trying desperately to remember what happened. The spoon from the sugar jar made a small ringing sound as hit the inside walls of his half-filled teacup. His slender fingers clenched around it, as his mind started replayed the scene..with no such luck. _When did this start exactly? _he asked himself. _Maybe it was this morning.._

_Driving back home from work, Arthur was impatient and irritable. He let frustrated groan escape his throat as he glared at the ceiling of his car. He was stuck in 5 o'clock traffic. The cars that surrounded him were blaring their horns in a random sequence. 'God, I wish I had some bloody earplugs..'_

_He closed his eyes tightly and leaned his head on the top of his seat. 'Fucking traffic..'_

_After what seemed like forever, the cars in front of him and the ones beside him sped forward. This alerted the cars behind him and they nearly blasted his eardrums. Arthur awoke from an accidental twenty minute nap and jerked his car forward, so fast that he almost rear-ended the blue Ford in front of him. "Shit!" _

_The woman in it looked backed in relief when the Brit had gotten ahold of himself after his near heart attack, calmly maintaining enough space between their vehicles. _

_But that incident was nothing in comparison to what happened when he got home. _

And _what _happened _then_ was now the very main reason he was staying in a cheap motel now, at the edge of town. He looked down into his tea.

"_I should've gotten scotch instead.." _He muttered, whilst stirring the spoonin the light blue teacup. Arthur studied the brownish color of his tea..Wishing it would turn the light color of the alcoholic beverage he desired at the moment.

He took out the spoon, and continued to stare down at the liquid. It was deemed unfit to drink long ago. The was more salt in it anyway, and he didn't feel like trying to equal out the flavour by wasting his sugar. Arthur rubbed his red,puffy eyes and grabbed the cup to wash in the sink.

He listened to the soft breaths that left his son's small form and thanked God for giving him such a quiet baby..when he was asleep, at least. He peeked at the little bugger in the small, dusty living room. The Briton smiled, the boy was on the scarred couch, surely from the previous guests, of course.

He turned the light in the mini-kitchen and tiptoed through the living room to sit by him. He lifted the toddler onto his lap and leaned into the cushion a little lower so he rested his head against Arthur's chest comfortably.

The father let out a long sigh. Another smile made it's way to his face, but it looked much more sad than the one before. "It's just you and me now..isn't it, Peter?"

The dozing boy offered no response but a slight turn to rest more comfortably. Arthur let tears resurface and he tried desperately to choke down the lump in his throat.

So many things came to mind with that simple question. He looked back down at the child wrapped tightly in his arms. It was just like the first day, when he found him as an infant in a crate with rusted nails poking in through the walls of it. He came without a single note from Arthur's prior fling partner, Alice. But he could tell that it was his, the eyebrows were too similar to mistake him for another's. Like his mother, the baby had blue eyes...but the shade reminded him more of a clear ocean. And it had slightly darker blond hair than himself.

Arthur grew to love him, even if he was a mere mistake of a broken condom. Even if his mother gave him up and would never wish see him again(Arthur at least knew this much about her). He was a blessing to Arthur's rough life and that was all that seemed to matter.

Arthur bent down to kiss the soft-haired head of the toddler. "Sweet dreams, love."

He laid the boy on his side and took his blanket to include himself in his son's warmth as he laid beside him.

_What am I going to do..? _

He didn't have his own apartment due to the rise in rent, and..and.._that_ happened. He knew that he couldn't afford the motel for more than four days. He lost his job as a waiter at the local restaurant, he had had enough of a customer who started cussing him out so he responded in a none-to-professional way that had his boss kicking his ass out from the establishment, and had only started a new job that was too far to go without a form of transportation that wasn't walking or biking.

He had lost his support from _what_ happened a few hours prior to him leaving to this bloody excuse for a motel.

_No,_ Arthur frowned though his eyes showed determination, _I will do anything to prevent Peter's life from turning out like mine._

What could he do? Where coul go? Is this what Peter wants? _No, he deserves so much more than this. _

He once thought about putting Peter up for adoption, not long after he had received him. But he realised how much he'd miss out on the child's life. At the time, he had no idea how much he'd mean to him in the future, and pitied him.

_He's__mine__. And will __**never**_ _be anyone else's. _

As he thought this, his hold on the toddler slowly increased it's tightness. The child made a small noise in his sleep and it did not go unnoticed. His guardian relaxed his grip, but tucked the blanket in around them before letting his arms lie on the boy's sides.

Arthur gazed at the back of his head for a while longer. And then released another sigh before closing his eyes for much needed rest.

_Whatever happens, I'll always be here for you, Peter. I promise that we'll make it out of this. We'll succeed. In any way possible…. _His mind blanked out as he drifted off into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

**How was that for a first chapter, huh? There will be much more, I assure you. **


	2. Calling Tino

**I'm baaaack. x3 I am so darn happy with all the ****follows and reviews, you have no idea.. QuQ I love you all. Especially you, Marshal. Thanks, dude.**

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He wasn't fully awake yet when the smaller form next to him began to wiggle. And once it was free of him, it began bouncing on him, yelling, "Wake up, Daddy! I'm hungry! Today's Friday, so we have to get weady..Come on!"

Arthur groaned in pain at his son's high amount of energy in too early of the morning for him. "Stop, Peter.."

"Nope!" Peter continued bouncing on his father's back. He wasn't going to stand down was he?

Without warning, the toddler was pulled into his father's blanket trap. He squealed and kicked his legs as Arthur started tickling him. "H-Hey, that's not fai-" He burst into a fit of laughter as the tickling doubled in intensity. His guardian snickered and pulled the flailing toddler up so he was entrapped in the blanket. "Put me down, you buwwy! Whoa-" He fell out of the blanket onto the couch with an "oof".

The almost-a-five-year old's hair stood up from the static and looked a bit dishiveled from Arthur's surprise attack. The elder chuckled and ruffled his son's already messy hair. Unlike Arthur, the boy's hair only looked this messed up in the morning.

While he was distracted in his own thoughts, Peter launched himself at his side and start tickling, which barely got a twitch as a response from his guardian. He pouted at him. "No fair. Why aren't you tickowish?"

"It's "_ticklish_". And when you get older, you start to get too used to these things and then they don't have much of an effect on you." Arthur smiled lazily and started to pet the boy's wild hair down.

The boy's wide orbs stared up at his green ones. "So you were still ticklish when you were little, right?"

He nodded and yawned, pulled the the latter into his lap, and tucked his head under his chin. Peter snuggled back into his father's arms and sighed through his nose. They sat there in peaceful silence, until Peter mumbled that he was hungry.

"Hmmm...what would you _like _to eat?"

"Cinnamon rolls."

Arthur frowned. "To cook here or-"

He shook his head. "No," he turned to face Arthur, a smile making it's way to his face, "We should get some on the way to the park!"

For a moment, Arthur looked exhausted, but then he stood up and started folding up the blanket. "Alright then, but you have to take a quick bath before-"

"Okay!" The toddler bounced off the couch to find his backpack. He pulled out his towel, rubber ducky, and toothbrush, before he disappeared into the bathroom.

Arthur, who watched this in mild curiosity, set down the blanket on top the couch and sat down beside it, letting out another sigh. The thoughts from every night since their first at the motel came back to haunt him.

Where could they stay? _I have no relatives in America. No friends except..Francis..._ He cringed at just thinking the name. He ignored the heartache the name also gave him.

He knew none of his work colleagues would bother to help him nor any in the job he had before. And he knew that his new boss, Mr. Beilschmidt, had even less sympathy for his situation. He only stood out because he was from Europe and his boss understood why he'd act rudely back to a customer, though he wouldn't tolerate it if it happened in _his_ company.

Arthur somehow _managed_ (and to stay on his good side had managed to get a few days off work to properly situate himself so that Peter could go back to preschool..

He grunted and buried his face in his hands.. _What am I going to do..?_

He couldn't bear to be anywhere near Francis' vicinity, it was torture. _If he can't be trusted.._

"Daddy, are you alright..?" He looked up at Peter who was standing in the frame of the bathroom door, looking at him with concern.

"Yes, lad..I'm just..Thinking of what- or where..where could get the cinnamon rolls.." He faked a laugh, which Peter didn't find reassuring. The boy smiled though and shook some of the water out of his hair. "Can you get my bag?"_  
_

"Sure." Arthur got up and scooped the younger's bag up and treaded to the bathroom. He passed by him and ran his hand through his wet hair. "Are you sure you scrubbed?" Arthur questioned, while draining the soapy water in the tub.

Peter tugged at his own hair, frowning. "Yeah, there's no more soap in it."

The green-eyed Brit looked back from the tub at the child. "I didn't ask you if you rinsed it out, Peter.."

"But I did!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

Arthur smirked. "Good, because if you didn't, lice will surely nest in your full head of hair." His smirk widened when he heard Peter's slight gasp and stiffen behind him. "H-Huh?" Peter started grabbing up at his bangs in panic and searching for any signs of the unwanted parasites.

Arthur stood up and turned around to see this and chuckled. "Want me to check?" His smirk never left his face. The boy in only his briefs on nodded frantically. "Pwease."

Arthur took his head in his hands and searched his scalp for the imaginary pests.

He pulled at a hair in the middle. "Oh, I found one! You haven't been scrubbing, have you?"

Peter's eyes widened. "WOT?! LEMME SEE IT! LEMME SEE IT!" He jumped under Arthur's grip on his hair.

Arthur clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Ah, it looks like there's already a bunch of them. I might have to shave your hair off-"

"NOOO! Pwease don't, Dad!" A guilty Peter pleaded as tears gathered in the corners of his eyes. "I promise I'll always scwub my hair! I'm sowwyyyy!"

Arthur patted his head reassuringly. "Don't worry, love. I was just joking." Peter looked up and rubbed away his tears. "That was mean. I thought you were weally going to shave my hair."

The Englishman took out a comb from the younger one's bag and began combing Peter's hair. "I will if you neglect thoroughly cleaning your scalp."

Peter huffed and tugged on his shorts. "Fine, you buwwy."

The other pinched the pinched his chubby cheek."If you keep that up, Peter, you'll turn into an American.." They both chortled at that, and then turned away from each other, as they finished getting ready.

* * *

Peter chose his white sailor shirt and a blue necktie with shorts and knee-high socks. He chose to wear his black Mary Jane shoes and a matching hat to go with his outfit. While the boy posed in his reflection, even Arthur could admit that he looked rather dashing. His smart casual wear was nothing compared to how well his son looked.

"Looking good, lad. Would you like some tea before we go?"

Peter nodded and skipped to the couch with his stuffed seagull under his arm.

Arthur grinned and filled a kettle to put on the stove. As he did this, he spotted the teacup from the night before. He suddenly felt morose as thoughts of a certain _event _flashed through his mind. He put the kettle on the stove and turned it on before turning back to the sink to wash the teacup so his son could use it.

As he turned the light blue cup upside down to scrub the bottom, he noticed a small smudge on it that definitely looked like writing.

_To Arthur, Love Tino_

Tino? Who was-_Oh, wait. I __remember! It's that one exchange student from Finland in my last year of high school in England. Yeah..That Tino.._

They had common hobbies, so they got along well. They were buddies for his senior year of high school, before Arthur left for New York City with _Francis_, who was also an exchange student from that same year. The mere thought of Francis made his blood boil, _but Tino, on the other hand.._

Tino was good at art, so he made Arthur a tea set so he would never forget him after he left. The Finnish boy was so gentle and honest that he was never unlikes by any of their peers. He admired Tino because he was calm, but also serious and hard-working. And he was talkative, but also slightly adult-like, as was Arthur at the time. He was a very quiet person when alone though.

The memories they shared made Arthur smile. _If only he was here now.._

He turned off the faucet and got a paper towel to clean the teacup. Why would he be here? _  
_

_Didn't he, at one point, mention he was going to move to America to be closer to some relatives?_

"Well, there is only one way to find out.." He smiled and dried the cup for some tea.

* * *

After a few searches on the internet, he finally stumbled across some of his high school friend's former jobs..

He was surprised seeing something along the lines of "journalist", "owns a bakery", "sniper training", even "DJ".. _You really get around..but then again, this is New York City.. _Arthur was ecstatic that Tino lived near the main city. _Maybe I could-_

_No, Arthur._ He paused and looked away at his laptop screen and back to the phone in his hands. _That's rude. You haven't even him since you were eighteen. You're just going to straight up ask him if you can move in with your son into his house?!_

But wasn't he that desperate. Plus, Peter needed a house, not some falling-apart motel room. _You__ crazy bloke! _Arthur was starting to get overly annoyed with his conscience's irritating voice. _"__Shut up, you bloody-"__  
_

"Dad, who awe you talking to?"

Arthur stiffened and turned to see his son who was trotting back from the swings. "N-No one," he tried to keep a straight face by smiling, "Keep playing, you tacker." He shooed the boy away with the flick of his wrist in mock attitude.

Peter stuck out his tongue, a bit of frosting from his cinnamon roll still stuck around on his lips and the edges of his mouth. "Fine, you bounce!" He skipped through the newly fallen leaves to the monkey bars and left his guardian in peace.

Rebalancing his laptop on the bench, he scrolled down to where Tino's home phone number. He then looked down at his phone screen and tapped in the phone number that was shown on Tino's webpage and saved it to his phone.

He wasn't ready for this. _I'll do it when I get home._

* * *

Arthur carried in Peter who had fallen asleep in the car during their ride home. _Just after lunch too. Perfect. _He laid him on the couch, the one they both called their "bed", and threw his coat over him. He pulled the collar of the coat down and ruffled the boy's hair. "Sleep tight, love."

Sparing one more look at the boy, he walked to the kitchen to make the call..

* * *

Outside the other side of city, there was a homey looking two-story house that was painted to look like a cabin. Along the painted-on logs, there was vines with every kind of flower painted on. The blue roof was very mild in contrast to the rest of the appearance of it, surprisingly. All in all, it was not too much, not to little, just perfect..

A certain Finnish man smiled at it, their house looked perfect. He held onto his fiancé's hand and rested on his side. _Fiancé..._ His heart raced whenever he said or thought it.._still_. It's been a week or so since he's been engaged, but he _still_ couldn't help but feel as if he was in the honeymoon faze of when his _fiancé _first asked him to be his boyfriend.

The other squeezed his hand, and the smaller Finn looked up to see the other nod. "Looks good." Though the taller significant other didn't speak or show much emotion, you could see how happy he was if you looked into his _beautiful sea blue eyes.._

"Oh, Berwald.." He scooted closer to the Swede and tucked his arms around his waist. "I can't believe it..I can't believe that you'd-"

Berwald tilted his "wife"'s soft, round face up and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Everythin's perfect, 'cause _you're_ perfect, Tino.."

Tino blushed as his lavender eyes became enraptured by the Swedish man's aquamarine, and it was made clear that he really meant it. This made him wrap his arms around Berwald's neck to pull him down for another kiss. "No, _you_ are, Berwald.."he breathed, as they separated.

The Swede picked him up bridal-style and began carrying him up the stairs of _their _new house.

_You hopeless romantic, you.. _Tino nuzzled his nose into his lover's navy blue jacket, his heart falling in pace with Berwald's footsteps.

Though he tells him "I'm the lucky one", Tino couldn't help but feel it's the other way around. _I'm the lucky one!_

His fiancé slid the see-through door open and flung the other onto the couch that had fabric of ultimate softness. _It's like falling into a cloud.. _

A long day of painting has paid off..And now it was just them. In their new house they had just finished setting up their belongings in. Everything was done and perfect.

And now Tino was gazing up at his lover, who now had bedroom eyes.. "How do you think we should celebrate, _kultasensi_..?" His native language sensually glided off his tongue as he let his eyes memorize every inch of Berwald's body that was now leaning over him.

The taller kissed the other's lips sloppily as he trailed down into his neck where he murmured,_ "Kärlek.." _

This is why Tino thought of himself being the one who was luckier. Berwald treated him so well and he didn't know how to handle it because of how self-conscious he was.. And he didn't know if he could ever return all the love he was given...At least, not until he knew he had _fell completely in love with-_

He gasped as hands ran down his hips and around to his backside where he was tested for moldability. The tester nipped at his neck and was slowly slipping his clothes off with ease. Goosebumps appeared everywhere there was skin that was begging to be touched. "Mmmm..Ahhh..Ber.." Tino's dilated pupils rolled back into his head as he felt heat spike his skin and rush up to his face and down to his-

They paused like a pair of teenagers caught doing the same thing they were by one of their parents, but instead, it was the phone ringing.

_GOD DAMMIT, just when it was getting good-_

"I'll get it." Berwald was already getting up, before Tino pulled him down and got up himself. "No, let me." When the other tried to object, he pushed him back down into the puffy couch and put a finger to his lips. "Shhhh.." The mischievous look in his eyes was more than enough to send the Swede his naughty intentions. The bigger man fell fast.

The Finn walked over to their new house phone and pressed the 'answer' button, pulling up his boxers that were pooling down around his ankles not one minute ago...

_Whoever this fucking cockblock is, I swear I'll cuss him out 'til he goes deaf! _Now scowling, he covered his inner turmoil with a his sweet voice. "Oxensteirna and Väinämöinen residence, this is Tino."

_"Hello? This is-" _

Tino's eye twitched, this voice was too different of an accent from anyone he knew.

"I'm sorry, this number is not used for any of Dr. Oxenst-"

_"Tino? This is Arthur, Arthur Kirkland."_

Arthur..Kirkland? From his exchange in London?

"..Arthur? H-Hei," Tino gulped and tilted his head back to look at Berwald, who was looking at him questionably,"Um, is there a better time we could catch up? Th-This is kind of a bad time-"

_"Oh, I'm sorry to-, I just-" _Arthur inhaled deeply. _"I need somewhere for m-my son to stay. Please- You- I have no one else to turn to-" _The Brit's voice choked up again as emotion arose from where it had been buried it deep within him. _"I mean-n you don't have to-It's just f-for a few days-"_

Tino's heart lurched. It was a weakness of his to give in to one in need.. At least he had Berwald to judge who was actually worth trusting..

He looked up at the said judge, who was already walking towards him with a concerned look on his face. He smiled. "Of course, we'd love to.."

_"R-Really?"_

"Yeah, me and Ber love kids! He can stay as long as he wants!"

Arthur tried to thank him, but Tino didn't let him as he chatted on with much excitement asking things like "How old is he?" "What's his name?" and "I bet he looks a lot like you, he's bound to be cute!"

_"Tino, Tino! Okay!" _Tino quieted down, as his fiancé's arms made their way around his waist. "We'll be having company quicker than we thought, Ber."

The other made sound and squeezed his arms tighter around the Finn. After years of trying to figure out the Swede, he recognized this as a confirmation.

* * *

On the other side of the big city, Arthur was smiling and wiping the tears that no longer threatened to fall. "His name is Peter. He's four, but is turning five in a month. He looks a lot like me, but I'm not so sure.."

"You have to send me some pics-Oh, never mind that! Just bring him over tomorrow, I wanna see him! And we can catch up! It'll be great!"

"I'm sure it will be.." Arthur's eyebrow twitched. _Seem's like he already caught on to American slang. He must have been here for some time.._ His heart dropped with guilt.

He realized, with a blink of his eyes, that he had spaced out. The Finn was talking with someone in the background. "Oh, Tino, are you still there? I'm sorry!"

_"It's okay, Arthur. Ber and I are just child-proofing the house. We just moved in, so-"_

The guilt returned and Arthur stumbled over his words again. "O-Oh? I'm sorry to impose-I-I should give you time to-"

_"It's fine! It'll take no time at all! We already settled in. Just now, actually."_

"Are you sure?"

_"Joo!" _Tino giggled as something crashed in the background. _"Be careful, Ber! The floors just got waxed this morning and I don't want to-"_

"Ber..?" _Berwald, __Tino's roommate at my high school? He's still living with him? _He chewed at his lip worriedly imagining the tiny Finnish man with a tall, intimidating Swede like Berwald.

_"Oh! Berwald! You remember my roommate?"_

"Are you still roommates or something...?"

The other guffawed, before answering, "Nope! We're getting married!"

"R-Really..?" Arthur was...surprised, to say the least. "C-Congratulations to both of you then!"

_"I know, I still can't believe it! He's so handsome now, even more than in high school! Oh, let me tell you.."_

And the day drew into a close as they chattered on, though Tino did most of it, until Peter woke up.

The boy rubbed his eyes and sat up from the couch. "Daddy..?"

He looked up from the phone. "One minute, Peter. Do you want some supper?" Peter nodded.

He leaned back into his cellphone. "Listen, Tino, I have to go. Is it okay if we come around noon? I still have to get-gather some of his things."

_"Sure! That'll give us enough time to prepare a guest room for the two of you."_

"That's-" _Wait, 'the TWO of us'? "_U-uh, no, Tino-That-That's okay, it'll just be him staying-I'll be staying at the motel for a whi-"

_"Arthur, it's fine, really. You deserve to stay with your son. And you need someone to talk to about what happened. I'll listen." _The sincerity and reassurance in his voice brought tears to Arthur's eyes. Damn Tino for being able to _see_ through him even if he wasn't there to actually see him.

"A-Are you sure? I don't want to impose-"

_"You can count on me, like one, two, thre-" _

"Oh bloody-Fine." Arthur huffed, setting a pan of water on his stove.

_" Lean on me, when you're not strooong. And I'll be your frieeend, I'll help you carryyy ooon."_ Tino had a beautiful singing voice, which ended with some light laughing. _"That's __what friends are for, remember?"_

Arthur chuckled at the cliché line and wiped his eyes again. Damn Tino again for making him feel so pathetic and vulnerable. And for cheering him up so easily. "You win."

_"So, see you tomorrow?"_

"Yes. I- just- I-I'm so thankful-I-I can't think of any other time that someone has-" The words failed to form in his head, so he finally just closed his eyes and sighed. "I can't thank you enough for this, Tino."

The other said nothing, but smiled as Arthur's breathing filled the receiver.

"Thank you. Thank you so much.." A few tears glided down the Brit's cheek and reflected the golden rays of the sunset as they fell to the stained floor.

* * *

He felt the weight being lifted off his shoulders. The stress of being a single parent, of fighting to live a stable life, of no family support, of _the heart break.. _It just disappeared as the phone call ended.

He walked into the small living room and sat at the small coffee table next to his son, who had just finished his beef stew. The boy laid on his head on his lap as Arthur combed his fingers through his hair.

"Everything is going to be alright.." The boy looked up, but didn't turn his head as he nodded slowly.

_Everything is going to be just fine.._

* * *

**ARTHUR IS SUCH A COCKBLOCK. xD I let myself be carried away, I'm sorry! And it's crazy, I've never wrote something _that _steamy. DAYUM. **

**samijohnston, if you're reading this, THIS SUFIN'S DEDICATED TO YOOUUUU. 3 )/ 3 MWAH! I WOVE YA!**

**Thank you reviewers and followers, this story would be nothing without you(I meant me!)!**

**BYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEE!**


	3. To Tino

**Thank you, my followers and reviewers~ And, once again, I don't own shit, especially Hetalia, that's too awesome to even be shit. I also wrote this while eating breakfast at MickeyD's. **

** My idea for Peter to be Arthur's child was from the inspiration I got from reading PitFTW's story, This Shouldn't Be Legal. I recommend reading it!**

* * *

"Blasted American food.." The Brit shoved the wrapper of his Sausage McMuffin back in the bag it came in and threw it into the passengers' seat. In the backseat, Peter had a different attitude about his meal. The boy happily bit into his hash brown and sipped at his McCafe orange juice.

Arthur looked at him through the rear-view mirror and smiled.

"Remember to use only your best manners, Peter. They really went out of their way to help us and I don't want to have to-"

"I will. I'll be good." The toddler's legs bounced excitedly in his booster seat. Arthur sighed in mild relief. "What are they wike?"

"Hmm..?" He looked back at his son once more, before turning back to the road. "Well, I haven't seen them in a while so I'm not so sure.." It was true. While he was looking up Tino's contact info. the day before, he only had a glimpse of a real modern-day photo of him.

Now that Arthur thought about it, he wasn't really expecting Tino to look much different, but he did seem to have a lower voice on the phone.. And then there was Berwald; he'd be taller and more intimidating by now. That thought was giving him second thoughts about staying at Tino's-

He shook his head. _"__Arthur, don't worry about it. Everything will be just fine.." _

"Look, Daddy, look!"

"Hm?" He looked back at Peter, who was pointing out his window and kicking his legs in his booster seat excitedly. "There!"

Arthur looked out his own window. "Oh, the Empire State Building? It's way over there, isn't it?"

"Can we got go there?" Peter smiled and looked at Arthur's green eyes expectantly in the rear-view mirror. But the father just shook his head. "Not today, Peter. We're much too late to-"

"Okay.." The boy looked down at his lap sadly, his legs halted in their energetic swinging.

"I'm sorry, Peter. Perhaps we could some other time.."

"M'kay.." The toddler pulled his knees up to his chest and rested his chin on them. "Cheer up, lad. Perhaps we could go there and take Tino and Berwald with us once we've settled in." Arthur blinked softly and smiled, the child mirrored it, to his relief.

Peter had wanted to visit the famous sights of New York ever since they'd moved there, but Arthur never had the time to take him because he was so busy finding a stable job. _Or were you just waiting for Francis to come with? _Arthur clenched his teeth and inwardly shouted for his conscience to kindly shut up.

While Arthur was silently cursing the evil thoughts swirling in his mind, Peter slowly fell asleep.

* * *

_After Arthur picked his son from __pre-school, he took a detour and went straight home. He had had enough of that day and just wanted it to be over. He wanted to retreat into his and Francis' room, curl up into their blankets and sleep his life away. There was no way that he could face Francis and tell him he just lost his job. Arthur's damned pride would be at risk. He could already imagine how disappointed and frustrated Francis would be with him. Guilt dropped like a cold stone in his stomach and he swallowed the knot in his throat. _

_"Daddy?" Peter pauses in playing with his stuffed seagull as his stomach rumbles._

_Arthur shook himself out of his trance. "Y-Yes, love?"_

_Peter tilted his head questioningly, but __didn't ask about the inner turmoil going on behind his father's mask. "I'm hungry." _

_A weak smile was shown in the rear-view mirror. "I know. I just have to pick something up at home really quick, so just sit tight, Peter."_

* * *

Arthur gently prodded on his breaks and they came to a stop at a big cabin-looking house with all sizes of flowers painted on it. He looked at the navy blue mailbox in front of him and saw more flowers painted on the side of it. _This is..cute. _He looked back at the house and then down at his iPhone. "2120 Nordic Drive..This seems to be the right place.." He put the car in reverse and then neatly parked in the driveway. "Flowers...Really, Tino?" _I thought he just referred to himself as a fragile flower.._ The Brit turned off the engine and shoved his keys in his trouser pocket before opening the car door.

He breathed in deeply as he admired Tino's beautiful lawn, and the garden that looked like it was professionally built, along with a small greenhouse. He smiled and shook his head. _What a lucky fellow._ Arthur blinked at it a few times. _It's like the place I've always wanted.._He noted with a twinge of jealousy. He bit his lip and continued to open Peter's door.

"Wake up, love. We're here." The boy blinked drowsily and yawned, but made no move to unbuckle himself. "Daddy?" He rubbed his eyes and stretched his arms out to Arthur. The guardian sighed in annoyance. "Peter, you are too old for this.." Arthur picked him up anyways and closed the door. "We can get the bags later, I guess.." Peter snuggled his face into the man's neck with a contented sigh. Arthur just smiled and rubbed the boy's back.

As they neared the front door of the cabin house, Arthur gulped, wondering how he should greet his friend after so many years. Re-balancing Peter, he shakily pressed the doorbell and closed his eyes tightly, as if he was preparing himself for his first football game-

After a minute, he opened one eye as he heard shuffling inside, along with noisy barking. A person's footsteps could be heard inside and then they hushed the dog and opened the door.

A short blond man with bright violet eyes and a round face appeared in the tall doorway.

When he saw Arthur, he smiled widely. "Arthur! It's you!" His voice hadn't really changed, it was probably just the phone that made it seem deep. "Tino.."

They just stood there for a moment, looking each other up and down. And then they finally embraced each other. Peter bounced and slightly shifted in Arthur's arms. 'Thank God, he's such a deep sleeper..'

"It is so nice to see you!" Tino giggled as he released the Brits. "How've ya been recently?" he asked casually, as if he hadn't heard the whole checked in with him the night before.

"Better, I guess." Arthur chuckled lightly as the door was closed behind him. "How have you been, mate?"

The Finnish man shrugged and sat down beside him and Peter on the couch. "Oh, just enjoying this house and Berwald, as always."

Peter turned his head, still resting his cheek on his father's shoulder, as he blinked at the new person beside them.

"Oh, is this Peter?" Tino gasped and gave him a friendly smile. "Hei there, Peter!" he greeted cheerfully. The toddler's blue eyes widened and he hid his face once more with a small blush.

Arthur kissed his head. "Sorry, he's just a little shy around new people."

The puppy that was barking earlier circled their feet and sniffed at Arthur's pant leg, before licking his fingers. "Ah, who's this little tyke?"

Tino picked her up. "This is Hanatamago, but we call her Hana," she licked her master's cheek, "Ber adopted her and then used her to propose to me," he beamed, his violet eyes brightening from the memory.

"That's very sweet of him." Arthur smiled as Peter crawled off his lap and started playing with the white fluff ball.

"He's a very sweet guy once you get to know him.." the Finn said, blinking at his old friend.

Arthur looked warily around as if the Swede would pop out of nowhere and scare him. This made Tino laugh.

"He left for work a few hours ago, but he'll be back for lunch break since the clinic isn't far from here."

"Oh, alright then." Arthur suddenly remembered Tino mentioning his husband was a doctor, which reminded him of the job listings Tino had when he looked him up.

"So you own a bakery?"

The younger man giggled. "A cafe, actually. I used to run one with Berwald while we were still going to the university in Helsinki. And so I started one here` You may have heard of it, it's the across from the Russian dance studio near that one German pub.." He snapped his fingers. "I forgot the name-"

"Gil's Awesome Kneipe?"

"Oh, that means bar?"

"Yeah, Francis and I used to go there and.."

Arthur trailed off, looking rather remorseful.

Tino's happy smile soon dimmed to a concerned frown and his eyebrows drew up in a bit of worry as the Brit spaced out. He patted Arthur's leg to get him to refocus.

"So, really, how have_ you_ been?"

The two did not break eye contact for what seemed decades.

Sighing, the father finally gave in to the Finn's silent request for an explanation.

Peter and Hanatamago were shooed out into the backyard and they played as his father and his father's old friend talked.

* * *

**The whole FrUk drama will be explained next chapter. Review if you liked it, review if you don't, but offer friendly tips. Currently looking for a beta, so recommend some good ones for me if you can!**

**Byyyyyye, my lovely ducklings~!**


	4. Let It Out

_**Special thanks to Sora Resi for helping me refuel my inner child to write Peter. ;) Though I mostly just observed my four-year-old brother..**_

No amateur writer, such as I, would be writing on this site if we owned Hetalia.

Enjoy.

* * *

_The toddler with choppy blonde locks and thick eyebrows, not unlike his father's, squirmed in his gray and navy blue car seat, dirtying it by scraping the bottom with the heels of his light-up sketchers. His seat belt scuffed up his shirt so his pudgy belly showed from under the pale blue fabric of his shirt._

_"Are we home yet? I'm hungry.."_

_The cute pout on Peter's face and the frustrated blush went unnoticed as Arthur jerked on the steering wheel, turning onto their street with a small, annoyed huff. He hated five o'clock traffic with a passion._

_"Soon, Peter, just-" He paused as he pulled up by his house. __"Oh hell no."_

_Arthur parked by his mailbox and sat up, eyeing what seemed to be an unfamiliar car in his driveway. The smooth steering wheel soon felt the wrath of his nails digging into it and a grip so tight the owner's knuckles turned white._

_"Like bleeding hell I'm gonna let this one slide." he growled maliciously._

_Pulling out his iPhone out and turning on a random episode of a cartoon Peter liked, one with a blue cat and what seemed to be a walking fish, he unbuckled his seatbelt and opened his door, shutting it roughly. He opened Peter's and plugged his earphones into his son's ears gently, before plugging it into his phone._

_"Daddy," Peter's sea blue eyes widened in worry and fear, not knowing what was going on at all, "What are you-"_

_"I'll be back in just a moment, okay?" Arthur tried to keep his voice calm, though he was on the verge of killing a certain Frog. He shut the door and pulled into the driveway, before getting back out and locking the doors. Shoving his keys into his pocket, Arthur made his way inside by breaking down the door._

_The sound could be heard within the confines of the small car his son was in. Though he was shaking slightly, Peter was successfully distracted by cartoons._

_Thankfully Peter was so glued to the odd characters that he didn't hear the sound of loud yelling and glass and furniture breaking inside his residence._

_The boy only noticed his father came back out of the house when the trunk was wrenched open and several bags and suitcases were shoved in. Arthur's breathing was hoarse from screaming and arguing. _

_Peter watched, the music and sound effects in his ears didn't cover the sniffles and stifling of sobs. The older Brit shut the door and started the engine, trying to regain his composure but failing._

_The toddler averted his attention back to the iPhone once he saw his father's red, teary gaze as they backed out of the driveway for the last time. Though Peter wanted to know what was wrong, what was happening, he knew now was not the time. He pulled his knees up on the seat uncomfortably._

_"H-How, how does Wendy's sound, Peter?"_

_The boy looked up at his father's puffy, red eyes concentrating on the highway. He glances up and nods and the silence is taken as a confirmation for their takeout dinner._

_..._

A worried whine woke the child out of his reverie. Peter looked down at the little white dog sitting in front of him with his stuffed seagull in her mouth.

"Ah, wait-" It was too late when he lunged and it began a chase. "Hey, that's mine!"

"Hana." A deep voice emanated from the fence gate beside the house and Peter froze. The dog seemed to hear it as well and immediately dropped the stuffed animal. The puppy ran in the opposite direction, right under Peter, and jumped up into her owner's arms. After retrieving his seagull, Peter gazed up, and then blanched at seeing the man's face. The Swede met his gaze and Peter almost peed himself from fright.

"W-who are y-you?" he asked him.

The tall man clicked a leash onto the dog's collar and then looked up to stare at him again. Then tilted his head a little and narrowed his eyes as if he didn't understand what creature was in front of him. Peter squeezed his gull.

"Berwald." said the man, in a deep voice, holding out a hand, then recalculating and shifting it more downward when he realized really how small Peter was. The boy shuffled forward nervously and held his own up to shake the giant man's.

The Swede gripped Peter's puny palm with two thick fingers and a big thumb pressing gently on top of the Brit's hand. Peter's earlier nervousness was replaced by wonder as he stared, amazed by the size of this new man's hand, and reached up to spread the hand out and play with the calloused fingers. "Whoa.."

Berwald slowly squatted down for easier access, just as amazed at the child's curiosity. "Your hand is way bigger than my dad's!" Peter giggled, smiling up at the stoic man, whose face didn't seem so unfriendly as it did at first. The doctor glanced down at his hand, the corner of his lips twitching in an attempt of a smile, and then suddenly looked back up into the toddler's wide ocean blue eyes at the word "dad". "...Dad?" he blinked, a bit flustered at the thought of the term being directed at him, though it wasn't.

"Yeah," Peter bent Berwald's forefinger to the big palm, trying to crack his knuckle, "My dad's hands awe small, but still bigger than mine." He showed the man his hands by shoving them right in front his face. The tall blonde fell back on his butt at this and pushed his glasses back up on his nose. "I-I see."

"Come on," Peter stands up and offers his hand once more to help the man up, "You'll see when you meet my dad.." He suddenly halts, making the taller boy almost trip over him. "Wait, you awen't a stwanger, are you?" asked the toddler, staring up at him with wide, tentative blue orbs. "Dad says I can't talk to stwangers. Sorry, I should've asked before.." he loosened his hold, making Berwald frown a little.

Hana barked, running ahead of them as the glass door slid open. A blond head poked out and smiled at the two. "Ber! You're back early!" Tino chirped, giggling as the tall blonde approached him and pecked his cheek. Peter looked between the two in mild confusion and slight curiosity.

"I was actually about to make lunch," Tino weaved his fingers in between the Swede's and smiled up at him sweetly. The corners of Berwald's lips twitched up in an attempted smile, as though he was trying to attract attention to it instead of the unmanly blush spreading across his face. "Would you like some?"

"Hm." Berwald picked up Hana again, letting go of his fiance's hand. Tino pouted for a moment, until he heard a small stomach growl from behind him. He smiled. "Who's hungry~?"

"Me!" Peter jumped up and down and Hana barked in agreement as she was set down and released from her leash.

* * *

As Peter and Berwald helped make lunch, Tino tidied up after them, glancing at the resting form on his couch every now and then, a brow creased in worry.

* * *

_"..and now it's like he never leaves my mind," Arthur blew his nose on a Kleenex after Tino handed him a box, "He must be taking great pleasure in haunting my every thought, the bastard." _

_The Finn opened his mouth to give comforting words, but then closed it again when he remembered his similar experience. If Berwald hadn't been there for him all along, even if only as his roommate, he would still be plagued by nightmares of Ivan. _

_He looked back to his friend, who was now dabbing his red eyes with another Kleenex, and worried his lower lip. __Arthur had only himself and his son. Not even Francis anymore._

_Tino had learned that Arthur had moved to New York with Francis after he found out he was a father. His family apparently wanted nothing to do with him after he told them about Peter; so they pretty much disowned him. At the time, Francis was just his best mate, who was willing to help raise the child as he worked as a chef in a famous French restaurant in America. So, they just up and left. _

_ The Brit then brought up the issue of Francis' smoking and drinking habits, which seemed to be the most major and probably the main reason Arthur decided to leave. Arthur often tried to keep Peter away from the house during the summer and signed him up for daycare. He'd have many arguments at night with the Frenchman and would dispose of a pack of cigarettes whenever he saw them. This barely irritated Francis since he could just buy a new pack whenever he felt like it. After a few close encounters with small, curious hands, all the wine bottles were either hidden, or poured down the drain, which Arthur would usually do to reduce the alcohol intake of his roommate or piss him off. It _was _expensive wine, after all. Arthur always took pride in it. _

_ What really set him off, the final straw, was when Arthur caught him with some redheaded skank after he got home from work a few days ago. He made sure to destroy all of the Frenchman's expensive furniture and drop every wine bottle and glass before he left. He just wasn't worth coming back to anymore._

_"I feel," the Briton sniffed, his red eyes closed tightly, "I feel as if I've just lost."_

_Tino squeezed his forearm. "No, you haven't."_

_"I have. My paychecks to pay mortgage, gas money to drive him everywhere," Arthur let out a watery chuckle, "Hell, the fucking bastard even got me to fall in love with him!" Tears filled in his eyes and fell before he fisted them away angrily. "To think I was so blind to just..let him use me like that." _

_His peridot eyes grew dull after a few moments. The Finn held him around the shoulders with his arm, rocking him somewhat soothingly as his friend occasionally emitted a stuffed sniffle. _

_ Outside, Peter was chasing around Hana, who seemed to have his toy in her mouth. Tino looked over to the Brit whose head was currently resting on his shoulder. He silently wondered if Peter had looked up to Francis as another father figure. A sour frown made its way onto Tino's face. He hoped not. _

_"You'll see, Arthur," he petted the Brit's blonde hair, still rocking him as Arthur fluttered his eyelashes, succumbing to a peaceful sleep, "Soon you'll see that your heart still lies within you.." Violet eyes watched as a tall man approached his puppy and the boy beside her, and Tino smiled. "..It lies, waiting for the right person to come your way.."_

* * *

"Tino?" The Finn blinked and looked up to find light aquamarine eyes staring down at him through thick lenses. A warm, calloused hand rested on his cheek. He leaned into it, hiding his soft blush.

"He's been through a really bad break-up." Berwald glanced over at the man on their couch and nodded in understanding. The scene was almost the same as the one he witnessed a few years ago, except now it wasn't his unrequited beloved. He was at least happy that the man wasn't covered in bruises like Tino had been.

Said Finn was still blinking up at him, long lashes tickling his index finger. "They're going to need to stay a while, Ber."

The Swede nodded, knowing he wouldn't be able to say no to such a cute face.

* * *

**_Report my mistakes to me when you review. Too late to be writing, but I feel guilty for not posting this chapter for so long. _**

**_So...Alfred in the next chapter? Tell me what you think. Though, I think Arthur deserves a good-looking distraction right now. R&amp;R~!_**


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